Glow
by Blue Butterfly 128
Summary: After leaving Paul Levesque at the alter, Stephanie McMahon is determined to stay single. However, Chris Irvine is set on finding her perfect match.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Glow

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary:** After leaving Paul Levesque at the alter, Stephanie McMahon is determined to stay single. However, Chris Irvine is set on finding her perfect match.

* * *

****

Chapter 1

* * *

Paul Levesque looked expectantly at the radiant woman standing in front of him, as was the rest of the church.

"I'm sorry. I can't," Stephanie McMahon said breathily, turning hastily and quickly walking down the aisle with her bridesmaids and mother following in hot pursuit.

* * *

"You were planning on running out on Paul at your wedding and you didn't tell your best friend in the entire world?" Chris Irvine questioned exasperatedly.

"Shut up, Irvine," Stephanie sighed. "I wasn't _planning_ it. I just… did."

"Well you put on a hell of a show," Chris laughed.

"You know, I didn't call to get made fun of," Stephanie pointed out.

"I know. I just throw it in as a bonus," Chris retorted childishly.

"How generous of you," Stephanie replied sarcastically. "But seriously, I don't know what I'm going to do when I come back."

"Just talk to the man. I mean, you can't avoid him forever," Chris offered.

"But what am I supposed to say to him!" Stephanie asked in a panicked voice.

Chris shrugged although Stephanie could not see. "That's up to you, Princess."

"Some best friend you are," Stephanie muttered.

"You know you love me," Chris laughed.

"You wish," she laughed, her mood lightening a bit.

* * *

Stephanie stepped out of the limo with her father. Tonight was her first night back at a wrestling even since the wedding fiasco two and a half weeks ago. Being such a wealthy and recognized family in Connecticut, the McMahon family was constantly in the local media, and the McMahon-Levesque wedding was no exception. Regional newspaper journalist and television reporters had conjugated outside of the cozy church, waiting for the newly married couple. However, when Stephanie burst through the front doors in a panic with her mascara starting to run, they knew the wedding had not gone as planned. In an attempt to figure out what had taken place, the press followed Stephanie as she ran to the parking lot, climbed into her own vehicle, and sped off. The correspondents ran wild with the footage they had obtained, creating fictional stories to accompany the unexplained clip. In a public statement, Vince McMahon denied all reports as to why Stephanie had fled the church, but did not elaborate on the situation as many had hoped he would.

Nevertheless, that was done with now. She had what were more important occupying her thoughts - like Paul.

Stephanie let out a shaky breath as she linked her arm with her father's extended arm. The pair walked into the building with a glow of confidence emitting from both father and daughter, although Stephanie felt anything _but_ confident about the night that lay ahead of her.

The show was to start in about two hours, so the two went to Stephanie's private dressing room, which was right next door to Vince's makeshift office.

"Are you going to be okay, Princess?" Vince questioned as Stephanie sat down of the plush leather couch. He knew that she had been stressing herself out all day about her return and her first confrontation with Paul.

Stephanie nodded as she glanced up at her father. "Don't worry about me, Daddy. I'm a McMahon, damn it."

"That's my girl," Vince laughed as he touched her cheek affectionately. He then turned to leave the room. "If you need anything, I'm right next door," he reminded her.

"I know, Daddy. Thanks," she replied, watching Vince leave the room and close the door behind him. Wild thoughts ran through her head of how her first meeting with Paul could go. He could be happy that she called off the wedding. Maybe he felt the same way she did and it took him a while to come to that conclusion. Or, he could be depressed. Maybe he was _in_ love with her and her leaving him just killed him on the inside. Or he could be livid with her for running out on him the way she did. Maybe he was so furious that he would -

'Stop it, Stephanie!' she mentally berated herself. 'Paul is a reasonable man. There is no reason to be scared. And remember, you're a McMahon,' she repeated. 'You don't get scared. And more importantly, when you do, you don't show it!'

Suddenly there was a knock at the door causing Stephanie to jump slightly.

"Who is it?" she called out.

There was a short pause. "It's Paul."

"Deep breaths," Stephanie whispered to herself, standing up and smoothing out her short black skirt and equally tight turquoise off-the-shoulder top with three-quarter-length sleeves. She walked to the door - nearly tripping in her black stilettos - and opened the door for Paul. "Hi," was all she could force herself to say.

Paul looked down at the floor for a split second before his eyes darted back up to meet Stephanie's brown orbs. "Hey."

The two stood there for a silent moment, not sure of what to do.

"Can I come in?" he questioned.

"Oh, yeah. Of course," she responded, stepping aside to allow him entrance to her room.

Paul walked in, letting out a deep breath as he passed his former fiancé. "Bischoff saw you and your dad coming in and he told me," he explained.

Stephanie nodded in understanding as she closed the door.

Both at a loss for words, the former couple merely stared at one another.

"Why haven't you returned my calls?" Paul finally asked, breaking the tangible and tense silence.

Stephanie averted her eyes from his gaze and shrugged. "I guess I just didn't know what to say to you. I mean, I've never really had to deal with a situation like this before."

"Neither have I," Paul shot back.

"I'm sorry," Stephanie apologized. "I panicked. I thought that you'd hate me."

Paul stepped closer to Stephanie and enveloped her in a hug. "I could never hate you," he informed her as she tentatively wrapped her arms around his middle. "I love you too much to hate you."

"I love you too," she said in a barely audible voice, refusing to look him in the eyes.

"Then why'd you run out on me like that? And in front of everyone?" he queried.

Stephanie pulled back out of the hug. "Paul, I love you, I really do. But I'm not _in_ love with you. And I guess us in front of everyone in the church saying our vows was just the slap in the face I needed to see that. I never meant to hurt you," Stephanie revealed, tears slowly forming in her eyes.

"I'm not mad at you," he said, virtually reading her mind. "I'm just hurting. I thought you and I were going to be _married_. I thought that we'd be together forever."

"I'm sorry," was all Stephanie could say.

"Don't be. I've had three weeks to think about this whole situation, and I realized that if you had a reason to run out on me, then we just weren't ready to get married. Or we just aren't meant to be," Paul explained. "And after what you said, I guess it's the latter."

"I'm sorry," Stephanie repeated. By now, her tears had begun to fall freely.

Paul embraced Stephanie gently. "Like I said, don't be."

Stephanie looked up at Paul with wet eyes. "I just didn't know what to do, but I knew that I didn't want to go through with the wedding, but I didn't want to hurt you either, but I just… I just couldn't do it to you and to me, and I'm sorry!" she rambled, repeating things that she had already stated.

"I know," he mumbled into her hair.

"Are you sure you don't hate me?" she sobbed, getting a little overemotional.

Paul smiled. "I'm sure."

"Are you sure you're not just saying that?"

"I'm sure," he reiterated.

"Are you positive?"

"I'm positive."

"Are you completely and absolutely-"

"Steph," he interrupted, "I'm sure. As long as we're still friends, I'm sure."

Stephanie sniffled, wiping away her tears. "Okay."

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I've just been really stressed since…" she trailed off.

"Our wedding?" Paul finished for her.

"Yeah," Stephanie nodded. "Thanks for being so… understanding about the whole thing."

"Well, there's not much I can do about it," Paul laughed.

Stephanie smiled. "Yeah. Sorry, Paul."

"Don't worry about it," he told her. "I got to go, but I'll see you later, okay?"

Stephanie nodded as Paul left the room, giving her a little wave before closing the door behind him.

* * *

"How does it feel to be back?" Chris questioned, throwing a sweaty arm around his on-screen enemy.

"Wonderful!" Stephanie cried out with a huge grin on her face.

Chris steered her toward the direction of his locker room. "Same for me. I missed calling you a brutal, dirty, disgusting, bottom-feeding, trash bag ho on national television," he sighed happily remembering their past years insulting each other.

"Me too," she replied sarcastically.

Chris chuckled. "So have you seen Paul yet?"

"Yeah," Stephanie answered queitly. "He came to see me earlier."

Chris looked surprised. "How'd it go? Did you throw anything at him?"

Stephanie gave a confused look. "Why would I throw anything at him?"

"Well, I just figured that he might start yelling, then, knowing you and your McMahon temper, that you would start yelling, and then he would yell some more, then you would throw something at him to shut him up," Chris narrated.

Stephanie shook her head. "No, I did not throw anything at him. And he didn't yell at me either."

"Oh," Chris said disappointedly.

"What, you _wanted_ me to throw something at him?"

"I just think it would have been entertaining."

Rolling her eyes, Stephanie responded, "Well, I'm sorry it didn't meet your expectations, but if he _had_ yelled at me, I think I would've started crying."

"_Then_ you would've thrown something at him," Chris added cheekily.

"Why not?" Stephanie sighed, giving into Chris' imagination.

Chris smirked. "I knew it."

* * *

"I'm going to stay single forever," Stephanie declared as she lay on her stomach in her hotel room on the bed.

"Yeah right," Chris scoffed, leaning against the foot of the bed so that his and Stephanie's heads were almost adjacent to one another.

"No, seriously," Stephanie argued. "I mean, I have the worst taste in guys, and-"

"Except when it comes to best friends," Chris interjected.

"Except when it comes to best friends," Stephanie repeated. "And when I do find a guy I think I commit myself to, I always end up backing out of the relationship for one reason or another. So I will just stay single forever," she pledged.

Chris gave Stephanie a funny look.

"What?" she asked.

"Well, I just don't see you as the single type," Chris answered, squinting a bit at the woman on the bed.

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Well, there are the type of people who can be single all their lives and be perfectly content, and there are the people who need to have someone to love," Chris explained. "And you… well, you're just not a single person."

"Why not?" Stephanie contested.

"Because," Chris replied as thought the answer to Stephanie's question was obvious.

Stephanie waited a moment for Chris to continue. When he didn't, she urged him on, "Because why?"

"Because I've seen the difference in you when you're in a relationship with someone and when you're _not_ in a relationship with someone."

"And those differences would be…?"

Chris shook his head and sighed. "Must I explain _everything_ to you? When you're with someone, you're always so happy, and you have this… glow about you, that is assuming that you're not fighting with him. But anyways, when you're not with someone, you tend to get cranky and bitchy and stressed out a lot more easily."

"And how does the single type act?"

"I am the perfect example of a single-type person. I mean, it was hell for me while I was married to Jessica. Ever sine the divorce was made final, I have been living the single life and loving it. I'm meeting new people, having one-night stands, being commitment free, and having fun with my life again. I could not be happier! You, on the other hand, were made to glow."

Stephanie looked at her best friend as though he were the biggest moron she had ever met and rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright, so here's the first chapter! Tell me what you think! Thanks! 


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Glow

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary:** After leaving Paul Levesque at the alter, Stephanie McMahon is determined to stay single. However, Chris Irvine is set on finding her perfect match.

* * *

**Chapter 2****

* * *

**

"I'm going to find you the _perfect_ husband," Chris declared, slamming his hand down on the table and causing everything on the table to rattle noisily.

Stephanie looked up from her breakfast to stare questioningly at her seemingly insane best friend. "What?"

"Remember how we were talking last night and you said you were going to stay single forever?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, when I was going back to my room, I decided that since you were meant to glow and all that, that _I_, the amazing Chris Irvine, matchmaker extraordinaire, will find the perfect man for you!"

"And what if I don't _want_ you to find me the perfect man?" Stephanie questioned, taking a sip of her black coffee.

Chris shrugged, brushing off Stephanie's point casually. "Minor detail. But don't worry; it's nothing I can't fix."

"What makes you think that there's a perfect man out there for me? Especially when _I don't want him_?"

"Then I'll make one and you can marry a robot! And he'll look _just_ like me!"

"I'm not even going to bother," Stephanie sighed. "Sit," she commanded, pointing to the empty chair.

Chris pulled out the chair across from the brunette and sat down.

"Order something," she said, waving the waitress over to the table.

"I'll just have that," Chris ordered, pointing at Stephanie's breakfast plate when the waitress arrived.

The waitress smiled at Chris and went to put in his order.

"I hope you don't expect me to listen to you like this _all_ the time."

"Of course not," Stephanie responded.

"Good, 'cause I'm only listening 'cause you're buying me breakfast," Chris smirked.

"Well, it's good to know why we're really friends," Stephanie replied sarcastically.

"Oh, poor Princess," Chris pouted. "So much money with so few friends to spend it on. Guess you'll just have to spoil little ol' me."

"Just what I've always wanted to do!" Stephanie exclaimed.

"Goodie!" Chris cheered in a childish voice. "Now, I want a new car, preferably a BMW, but I'll take a Mercedes if I must, a house in L.A., a shopping spree, and… a pair of red silk pajamas because it feels all cold and nice and slippery on my skin."

"Who do I look like? Santa Clause?"

"Well…"

"Don't answer that," Stephanie snapped. "And I do to have friends!"

"But who's your bestest friend in the whole wide entire world?" Chris questioned.

"Well, I have been talking to Kurt a lot lately…" Stephanie pondered aloud.

Chris stared at her, mouth agape. "That was a low blow!"

Stephanie merely gave Chris quick smirk.

The waitress brought over Chris' food and set it down in front of him. "Would you like anything else?" she asked.

Chris looked her over. "How about your number?"

Blushing, the waitress said with a giggle "Only if you leave me a good tip."

Stephanie shook her head at Chris as he watched her walk away. "You are terrible!"

"What?"

"You're hitting on a hotel waitress, whom you will probably never see again."

"Who said that I'd _want_ to see her again? I'll have my fun and that will be that."

Stephanie raised an eyebrow. "Oh, that's right. You're the 'single type' of person whose life is full of ring rats and one-night stands."

"_Now_ you're getting it!"

"Eat," she ordered him while rolling her eyes.

* * *

Chris sat down with a pen and notepad in his hotel room. 'Who's single?' Chris thought to himself, attempting to name every single male friend of his in his head. Halfway through his brainstorming, he realized that most of his friends who were not in the WWE either lived in Canada or Florida, and the WWE was currently in Michigan.

An idea suddenly came to Chris. He picked up his cell phone and went through the list of his co-workers. When he found the name he was searching for, he pushed the green button.

"Hello?" a male voice answered.

"Rob!" Chris greeted. "Hey, Buddy."

"What do you want?" Rob questioned, knowing that Chris would never go through such formalities unless he wanted something.

"I'm fine, and you?"

"Out with it!"

"Oh, that's great," Chris said, continuing the conversation himself. "But no more beating around the bush, you live around here, right?"

"Where's 'here?'"

"Michigan."

"Yeah…"

"Good. So you've got friends, right?"

"Is there a point to this?" Rob asked.

"I was wondering if you have any single friends around here."

"Well, most of the women I know are married," Rob replied. "But I'm sure Sonia-"

"I meant guys. Single guys. You know any?"

There was a pause. "Dude, I didn't know you were…" he trailed off. "I mean it's just that with you having been married, I just figured that… But I'm totally okay if you're into guys!"

"What? You thought that… You think I'm… NO!" Chris exclaimed. "I'm trying to set Stephanie up with someone."

"Oh! That makes a lot more sense. Sorry, Man," Rob laughed.

"Yeah, funny," Chris retorted sarcastically. "So you know anyone that would want to go out with Stephanie?"

"Umm… yeah. My friend Troy. He's single."

"Okay, I'm going to need some background information. Where does this 'Troy' live?"

"Next door to me."

"And how old is this 'Troy' person?"

"Twenty-seven, I think."

Chris nodded as he wrote Rob's answers down. "And would you consider him good looking?"

Rob thought for a moment how to answer Chris' query. "Well, Sonia says he reminds her of Jay, only a little shorter and less tight clothes."

"That's a 'no,'" Chris scribbled.

Rob chuckled knowing that Chris and Jason Reso were good friends. "Any other questions?"

"Yes." Chris continued firing question at Rob that were either vital to the situation or completely random, some of which Rob could not answer. "Well, thank you, Mr. Dam. If you would please contact the potential date and then call me back, that would be appreciated. And please say 'hello' to Mrs. Szatkowsky for me. I look forward to your call," Chris said in a business-like voice.

"Will do."

"Good evening, Sir."

"Later." With that, the two friends hung up.

* * *

"Hey, Stephy!" Chris practically shouted as he bounded through the door of Stephanie's hotel suite.

"Hey, Chris," she said with a hint of cautiousness, unsure of why Chris was so enthusiastic. After closing the door, Stephanie began following Chris.

"What would you say if I found you a date already?" Chris asked, suddenly stopping and turning around to face Stephanie.

Due to Chris' abrupt halt, Stephanie nearly walked into Chris. "You got me a date already?"

"Yup," Chris beamed.

"You got me a date when it hasn't even been three weeks since I ran out on my fiancé on our wedding day?"

Chris opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it. "Well, you know, it may _seem_ like it's too soon, but…" Chris searched for the right words, "it's not!"

"I don't know, Chris. I don't think that I'm ready to start dating just yet."

Chris contorted his face. "But I already set it up. And I made dinner reservations for you two at this nice little place, and I'm paying for it, and everything!" he whined.

"Chris," Stephanie sighed, "you can't just plan something like this without asking me first."

"But I told you this morning that I was going to find you a husband."

"And I thought that you meant in like… a few _years_! Not a few _hours_!" Stephanie shouted.

"So does that mean you're not going to go?" Chris sulked, throwing himself onto the floor, ready to throw a tantrum.

"I don't know if I can," Stephanie replied, kneeling down. "I mean, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I just need some time first."

Sighing, Chris said, "Okay. You're lucky your excuse sounded all sensitive and shit, otherwise I'd be screaming like you've never seen."

"Thank you." Stephanie stood up then pulled Chris up off of the floor with her.

"I'll call up Rob's friend and cancel. Besides, now I have some time to bring in some MIT's!" At the look of confusion on Stephanie's face, Chris elaborated. "Matchmakers-in-Training! Duh! Contrary to what you may believe, I don't have friends in _every_ state of this country, so other people's friends will have to do," Chris planned excitedly beginning to walk across the suite again with Stephanie following.

"You're impossible."

"No, you're just pessimistic. But_ anyways_, since I already have a reservation, why don't we go out to dinner then? We can get all dressed up and pretend we're rich and famous celebrities. Oh, wait! We already are!" Chris feigned shock with his eyes bulging and jaw dropping.

"If it'll make you happy."

"Of course it will. What could make me happier than spending a nice quiet evening with my best friend?" Chris questioned, batting his eyelashes.

"A lap dance?" Stephanie guessed.

Chris grinned. "How much do you charge?"

Stephanie glared at her "friend" and grabbed at the nearest item within her arm span.

"I'm just kidding, Stephy!" he laughed as she began chasing him around her spacious suite with a pillow in hand, ready to attack.

"You asshole!" she shouted, pouncing on his back, causing him to face-plant on the carpet. She began whacking him mercilessly with the pillow.

"I was just kidding!" he repeated, covering his head for safety. "Stop or I'm going to have to go all wrestler on you!" he threatened.

Stephanie was too preoccupied with abusing her friend to pay attention to his terrorizations.

"That's it!" Chris declared. He stood up suddenly, planning to throw her off. Instead, Stephanie wrapped one arm around his neck and her legs around his waist so that she was hoisted up with him and her hand with the pillow still free. After slowly making his way to the couch because of Stephanie's chronic blow, Chris stood at one end and flipped Stephanie over his shoulder onto the plush piece of furniture. Jogging to the front of the couch, Chris then did a cross-body slam. Satisfied with the job, he turned to face the front and sat on Stephanie.

"YOU COW! GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!" she demanded, shoving at his back in vain.

"Do I get a lap dance?"

"NO!" Stephanie shouted, adamant about her position.

Chris sighed. "Fine, but then you have to tip at dinner."

"What happened to that waitress?" Stephanie managed to get out while attempting to breathe.

Chris gasped. "I completely forgot about her!"

Stephanie began gasping as well, but for a completely different reason than Chris.

"Maybe I should take her out to dinner instead… I will get more out of it at the end of the night than taking _you_ to dinner," he teased.

"If it means that you'll get off of me, that's fine!" Stephanie agreed hastily.

"But I already said that I'd take you, and that would be rude to cancel on you," Chris debated aloud.

"You're crushing my lungs and you think canceling on me would be rude?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, what kind of friend would I be if I just left you here and took another woman out to dinner after I said that I'd take you?"

"The kind that likes me _alive_?" Stephanie offered.

Chris ignored Stephanie's comment. "But then I'd probably feel guilty all night anyways, so really there's no point in taking the waitress. Besides, I lost the napkin with her number."

"THEN GET OFF OF ME!"

Chris sighed heavily. "Fine. But only so that you can go and get ready for dinner." He headed toward the door as Stephanie stayed on the couch. "I'll be back," he impersonated "Ah-nold" while staring intensely at Stephanie from the open door. With that, he closed the door and was off to his own room to get ready for their dinner date.

"Finally," Stephanie muttered to herself, "I can breathe."

* * *

**Author's Note:**Ok… I'm on the second Ok… I'm on the second chapter already! Snaps for me (I just rented and watched _Legally Blond 2_ a couple of days ago, so that would explain the snaps)! Ok, so I hope you all enjoyed it, and for those of you that reviewed the first chapter, please continue to do so. As for those of you who have _not_ reviewed at all, I suggest you do… otherwise I may be forced to come after you! J/P! But please, please, please review my story! Thanks! 


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Glow

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary:** After leaving Paul Levesque at the alter, Stephanie McMahon is determined to stay single. However, Chris Irvine is set on finding her perfect match.

* * *

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Chapter 3

"It's been six fucking months!" Chris whined as he threw his fist into the bare couch cushion next to him.

Stephanie looked at her friend curiously. "Six months since what?" she asked, looking up from the stack of papers on her desk.

"Since your little speech about needing time and some other girl shit you were going through," Chris explained, obviously frustrated at Stephanie's lack of interest in his mission.

"Oh. That. I think I still need more time," Stephanie muttered, looking back down at her paper work.

"Bullshit!" Chris accused her.

Rolling her eyes, Stephanie stopped her scribbling and pushed herself about a foot away from her desk and leaned back in her chair. "You can't rush something like this, Chris."

"Who's rushing? If you took any longer to get over Paul, you'd be going backwards! Besides, why's it taking you so long to 'heal' when _you_ broke up with _him_?" Chris demanded to know.

"Human emotions are a complicated thing," Stephanie told Chris, who had stood up and begun pacing the room.

"No they're not," Chris contested. "People make emotions complicated. Just say what you feel and lose the mind games and everything becomes so much simpler!"

Stephanie sighed. "Not everyone can be as candid as you."

"You're telling me. If everyone thought the way I do, then the world would be having an orgy twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year!" he grinned.

"You mean _you_ would be having an orgy with every attractive woman on the planet while the rest of the guys hid underground or something," Stephanie corrected Chris.

After a moment, Chris nodded. "You're probably right. But that's beside the point…"

"What's the point then?" Stephanie questioned exasperatedly.

"The point is that you have had a full six months to recuperate from your break-up with Paul, which you instigated might I add, and you haven't gone out on one date ever since," Chris narrated animatedly.

Stephanie shrugged. "So?"

Chris moved to the other side of Stephanie's desk so that he was directly in front of her. Kneeling down, he took her hands in his. "Tell me you're really happy without having someone there to love you."

"I have people who love me," Stephanie argued.

"You know what I mean."

"Do I?" Stephanie retorted, arching a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

Chris narrowed his gaze. "Yes, you do know."

Stephanie looked away from her friend for a moment. "It's okay."

"Just admit that you miss having a person who is so passionately in love with you that he would go to the end of the world for you naked in the snow with lice and no medicated shampoo."

Stephanie could not help but allow a giggle to escape.

"I'm trying to be serious, Steph," Chris whined.

"I know, I'm sorry," she apologized with a smile.

"So will you answer my question?" Chris requested, dropping Stephanie's hands and standing back up.

"_Actually_, you never asked me a question. You wanted me to tell you that I'm happy," Stephanie smirked.

"Fine, I'll rephrase it into a question. Are you happier now that you're single?"

After a moment, Stephanie replied, "No. There's your answer. No."

Chris smiled triumphantly.

"I'm glad you find my discontent so amusing," Stephanie remarked sarcastically.

"I'm not happy that you're not happy. I'm happy that you admitted that you're not happy."

"Yeah, that's so much better."

Chris shook his head. "You're missing the good side of this."

"There's a good side to my unhappiness?"

Pushing himself onto the desk, Chris explained, "Not a good side to your _unhappiness_. A good side to your admittance that you're unhappy. Must I go through this again?"

"No. I can see where this is heading."

"Good. now I don't have to persuade you to go on a blind date. You are agreeing to this, right?"

"I suppose," Stephanie sighed.

Grinning almost maniacally, Chris jumped off the desk and headed toward the door. "Good. Your first date's tonight!"

"You mean you already have a date set up for me?"

"Well… not _yet_, but you'll have one. I promise!" With that, Chris left the door and closed the door behind him.

Stephanie dropped her head onto the back of the head rest. "What the hell did I just get myself into?"

* * *

"So tell me _something_ about this guy," Stephanie requested, brushing her caramel locks. 

"Well," Jason Reso began, making himself comfortable on the couch, "his name is Travis McKay. I went to high school with him. He moved to New York after we graduated for college. He found a job as a sports journalist, and he's in town to cover an away game."

"Sports fan… I can work with that. Does he know anything about wrestling?" Stephanie asked, adjusting her crimson v-neck top.

"He watches every now and then, but he's not too big of a fan. He'd rather watch hockey," Jay replied.

"Of course. He's Canadian. Chris, I have to admit that I'm pleasantly surprised at your choice for a first blind date," Stephanie complimented the other blonde in the room.

Chris smirked triumphantly. "Good to hear."

"How do I look?" Stephanie queried, spinning a circle.

Chris and Jay inspected Stephanie's dark red tank top that revealed just enough cleavage and light low-rise blue jeans before giving her the thumbs up.

"Do either of you know where we're going?"

"He just said to tell you to dress casually," Chris replied.

"So, no," Jay reiterated.

Stephanie shrugged. "So what kind of guy is he?"

"Well in high school he was a total jock, but he was still pretty smart. He dated blondes mostly, but then again the majority of the girls at our school were blonde… but anyways, he's a nice guy. Got along with pretty much everyone."

Stephanie nodded.

"Don't worry, Steph," Chris attempted to assure his friend. "_I_ picked him."

Stephanie looked at the blonde dryly. "Yeah… that makes me feel so much better," she remarked satirically.

"Are you mocking me?" Chris accused the brunette.

Stephanie feigned shock and put her hands to her chest. "I would never!"

Chris raised an eyebrow at her.

"Children!" Jay snapped, getting the attention of the other two adults. "Can't you behave yourselves?" he mildly berated them. "Honestly, I can't take you anywhere."

Chris shook his head disapprovingly. "You just think you're _so_ mature."

"I only think that because I am," Jay replied smartly.

Before the argument could continue, there was a knock at the door.

"Stop!" Chris commanded as Stephanie began walking toward the door.

"What?" Stephanie questioned, giving Chris an odd look.

"_You_ can't answer the door. It makes you look desperate," the blonde whispered, pushing his friend away from the door.

Rolling her eyes, Stephanie went to stand by Jason.

Satisfied, Chris opened the door. "Travis! Hey man! You look… different." At the door stood a heavy man with a short ponytail.

Laughing, Travis stepped inside the suite. "You look a lot different too, Jay."

"That's 'cause I'm Chris," the blonde replied.

"Chris?"

"Irvine."

"Oh, right. Hey, man," Travis greeted, shaking his hand.

"McKay!" Jay exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"Reso!" Travis shouted back.

"How've you been, man?" Jay questioned, eyeing Travis' beer-belly.

"I've been good. Been keeping up my girlish figure," he laughed heartily, rubbing his bloated stomach. "That diet of beer and hotdogs does wonders for the body."

"I'll bet," Jay returned the laugh. "So, this is Stephanie McMahon," he introduced, pulling Stephanie by the arm to stand by his side.

"Hi," she said politely.

"Stephanie, this is Travis McKay," Jason said.

Looking Stephanie up and down appreciatively, Travis grinned suggestively at the brunette. "Hey, sweetheart. I looked up some pictures of you on the internet, just to see what I was getting myself into, and I must say, they do not do you justice. And it looks like you've lost some weight!"

The other three gaped at Travis' audacity to mention a woman's weight. Even though it was meant to be complimentary, the wording made it sound crude to Stephanie. "Thank you?" she replied curtly.

"Well, the game starts soon, so let's go," Travis announced.

"Game?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah. We're going to the Yankee's game tonight. We got amazing seats. And they're playing Oakland so it should be a close game," Travis explained.

"Great. Let me get my jacket," Stephanie replied unenthusiastically.

Travis nodded as Stephanie disappeared into her bedroom. "She is hot!" he whispered to Chris and Jay excitedly. "What a piece of ass!"

"Hey," Chris intervened, "don't get any ideas about her. She's not some slut you can find on a corner, okay? She's better than that and deserves to be treated as such."

Raising his hands in surrender, Travis replied, "Sorry, man. I didn't mean it like that."

"Let's go," Stephanie said, coming out wearing a cream colored pea coat.

Travis ushered her out of the room as Jay closed the door behind the duo.

"'I didn't mean it like that,'" Chris imitated the overweight man. "How many meanings can there be to a fucking phrase like that?"

"Chill," Jay instructed his friend. "Stephanie's a smart woman. She won't let anyone take advantage of her," he assured the other blonde.

Nodding in agreement, Chris sighed. "Yeah. You're right."

"Of course. Now, let's watch a movie then pace nervously as we wait for Steph to return," Jay suggested.

"Sound like a plan."

* * *

"I hate you," Stephanie declared, throwing her purse at Jason's head. "I'm never trusting you again to set me up with anyone!" 

"Was it that bad?" Jay questioned.

"No," Stephanie answered.

Jay grinned slightly.

"It was worse!" the brunette cried out angrily.

"What happened?" Chris asked, joining the conversation.

"Well the game was fine. I actually enjoyed it. But that wasn't the problem. So we're on our way to the game and the whole time we're in the car all he can talk about is himself and how wonderful he is. So we get to the stadium and park in a garage since it was right across the street from the stadium. I go to get out of the car and he locks the damn door. So I asked him what he was doing. He told me that we were early and that he knew how we could pass the time," she spat out with a shudder. "So he tries to kiss me. But me being me, I slapped him. He apologized and said that he read my signals wrong when I wasn't sending him any signals except for the ones that said he could go to hell. But so he apologized and we walked around for a little until they opened the gates and let people in. So we get to the seats and I can barely see any people! His definition of 'amazing seats' was just a little off from my own. But so we decided to get some food. He ordered, I ordered, and then he tells me he's out of cash, so I pay for the food. He got a beer with his food and ended up spilling it all over me while we were going up the endless stairs to get back to our seats because he had so much food to carry. So there I am, soaked in beer while he's inhaling his food. I couldn't eat my food because it was so disgusting to watch him eat his own. So he ended up eating it."

"What a gentleman," Chris remarked dryly.

"It gets better. He's halfway through my nachos when he asks me if I want some. I declined his generous offer, but he again doesn't understand straight away so he tries to feed me. I didn't want any so I kept pushing his hands away. Then he spills the rest of the nachos on me, mostly on my top. Then being the charming and thoughtful man that he is, he offered to clean me up and starts grabbing at my boobs. So this time I punched him then I went and found a better seat on the third baseline."

"How'd you get a seat like that without a ticket?" Jay questioned, amazed.

"I saw the empty seat and went down. The guy checking for tickets recognized me and let me have the seat," Stephanie smirked.

"I'm sorry he turned out to be such an ass," Jay apologized.

"A fat ass," Chris inputted bitterly. "I knew you shouldn't have gone out with him!"

"Thanks for stopping me, friend," Stephanie retorted sarcastically.

"No need to get so snippy," Chris replied.

"Well, if you guys don't mind, I'm going to shower and then I'm going to bed. After tonight, I think I deserve it," Stephanie informed her two blonde guests.

"Yeah. We'll just leave now," Jay said, heading for the door. "Breakfast tomorrow?" he asked the other two.

"Around nine?" Chris questioned.

"Sounds good," Stephanie agreed.

"Alright. We'll see you tomorrow, Steph," Jay said as he walked out the door, leaving the best friends alone.

"Please tell me all my dates won't be like this," Stephanie pleaded.

"Can't promise you that, but I'll try and make sure that the as clowns like McKay get filtered out," Chris vowed, wrapping his arms around the brunette.

Stephanie let out a choked sob.

"What's the matter?" Chris inquired, pulling back and looking into her shining eyes.

"It's just so hard to do this again," Stephanie confessed. "It makes me wonder if the end result is worth going through all this."

"For you, it will be."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I am so, so, so, so sorry that it has taken me so long to update. I just couldn't motivate myself to write and then when I did sit down to write something, nothing came out. So it was a mix of laziness and writer's block. And then recently my family and I suffered the loss of a loved one, so that sort of explains the lack of updates as of late. But I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. I had about two-thirds of it written and just couldn't finish the chapter. Then I just sat down and it all just poured out. It was kind of rushed just because I wanted to update, but I hope you liked it anyways! Please review! 


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Glow

**Rating:** PG-13

**Summary:** After leaving Paul Levesque at the alter, Stephanie McMahon is determined to stay single. However, Chris Irvine is set on finding her perfect match.

* * *

**Chapter 4** **

* * *

**

"Hey, Steph!" Chris greeted, spotting his friend walking his way down the corridor. "Where you going?"

"I was just going to catering. I haven't eaten all day!" Stephanie replied as her friend fell into step along side her.

Hearing Stephanie's destination, Chris immediately jumped in front of the brunette.

"What are you doing?" Stephanie questioned, wide-eyed.

Chris searched for his words. "I was just, getting some exercise!" he stuttered, doing jumping jacks.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Stephanie asked, giving her friend a I-hope-you-know-that-you-look-like-a-jackass-and-I'm-pretending-that-I-don't-know-you look.

"You know, the food in catering is just… horrible! I can't let you eat in there!" Chris protested.

"In all the time I've known you, I've _never_ heard you complain about _any_ kind of food."

"Well, I just never said anything. But I've just had it! So why don't we go out and get something to eat, and I can tell you all about it!" Chris offered.

"Irvine, whatever is in there that you don't want me to see, I'll find out eventually," Stephanie informed the still jumping blonde.

Chris sighed as he stopped his exercise. "Fine. Go ahead."

Rolling her eyes, Stephanie walked past her friend and opened the door to catering. At first she couldn't understand why Chris didn't want her going in the room. But the she it. She saw them.

"I'm sorry," Chris whispered into her ear from behind.

Stephanie watched as Trish seductively placed a grape between her lips and leaned in toward Paul. He covered her mouth with his and the grape disappeared. Stephanie's throat tightened at the sight.

"Steph," Chris said, worry laced in his voice. Getting no response, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her toward a table.

"That's what you didn't want me to see," Stephanie concluded as she sat down in her chair.

Nodding, Chris replied, "Yeah. I just didn't think… I'm sorry you had to find out like that."

"Don't be. I mean, I'm starting to date again… kind of… so it would just make sense that Paul did too," Stephanie responded calmly, her initial shock gone.

"Steph, they've been dating for about two months now," Chris informed the heiress.

"Oh," was all Stephanie could manage to get out. "I guess I just haven't noticed."

"Well, we kind of tried to keep you away from them on purpose," Chris confided.

"We?"

"Yeah. Jay, and Adam, and Matt, and I all agreed that if you weren't ready to date, then you probably weren't ready to see Paul date yet either," he explained.

Stephanie shook her head. "That's ridiculous. Absolutely absurd! I can handle seeing him with someone else. I'm the one who broke it off. And I'm obviously over it with my dating again," Stephanie rambled incoherently. "True he did start dating before me, but that's not what's important. What's important is that we are both over our relationship, which I so am! I mean, I don't miss him at all! In fact, I'm ready for a second date! Just not with Travis," Stephanie quickly added, remembering the previous night.

"Good," Chris beamed.

* * *

"Maybe we should've let her know about Paul and Trish a _long_ time ago," Chris mused to his friends. 

"Why?" Jay asked, pulling on a shirt.

"You should've seen her after she saw those two together. She was babbling about how she was over him and ready to keep dating. It was the kick in the ass we've been waiting for," Chris explained.

"So she just wants to catch up with Paul," Adam concluded.

"Basically," Chris agreed, shoving his wrestling tights into his bag. "I mean, she hated seeing that Paul had moved on without her. It's like she expected him to just mope for the rest of his life and die a bachelor."

"Well, can you blame her?" Adam replied.

"What do you mean?" Chris questioned.

"I mean that she grew up with people constantly fawning over her and doing what they could to please her. Then Paul comes along and does the same thing," Adam clarified. "He treated her like a princess whom he couldn't live without."

Chris shrugged. "I guess I see your point. But either way, she wants another date. So what's the next city?"

"Miami," Jay answered, picking up his bag.

"Do any of us know anyone form Miami?" Chris inquired.

"No… but we know someone who does," Adam grinned.

* * *

Dwayne Johnson laughed. "I remember hearing about that. Felt bad for Paul for a week. Then gave him shit about it for two!" 

"Yeah, so me and a couple of the other guys have been trying to find Stephanie a date, and we're going to be in Miami next, so we were thinking you could recommend a friend of yours or someone we could hook up with Steph," Chris explained.

"Does this have anything to do with Paul and Trish getting together?" Dwayne asked knowingly.

"Well, sort of. It was kind of a wake up call for Stephanie telling her that Paul's moved on. So now she really wants to start dating again."

Dwayne sighed. "You know, you shouldn't be fixing her up with guys if she doesn't want to date. And you shouldn't be fixing her up with guys if she does want to date, but for the wrong reason," Dwayne reprimanded the Canadian on the other end of the phone line.

"Who the hell are you? Dr. Phil?"

"Hey, the guy knows what he's talking about!" Dwayne refuted.

"Do you know anyone or not?" Chris demanded to know, growing impatient with Dwayne's evasiveness toward the situation.

"Yeah," Dwayne muttered.

Chris smiled. "Great."

* * *

"Should I really be trusting you again?" Stephanie worried. 

"You're not trusting _us_," Chris corrected. "You're trusting _Dwayne_. So remember, if you're date gets fucked up, it's all Dwayne's fault."

"Perhaps, with your logic, but you three are within arm's length," Stephanie pointed out.

Adam, Jay, and Chris exchanged slightly nervous glances. "Don't worry. This one will be fun!" Jay assured the brunette, giving her nose a light tap with his finger.

Stephanie gave the blonde a dry look. "Poke at my nose again and you won't be able to flip anyone off ever again."

Jay immediately took a few steps back.

"Maybe I should just cancel," Stephanie thought aloud.

"He'll be here in a couple minutes. It's too late to cancel," Adam said, putting a damper on her plan.

"What's wrong? I distinctly remember you telling me that you wanted to start dating again so that you could catch up with Paul," Chris sighed, hands on his hips.

"I never-."

A few knocks at the door interrupted Stephanie's argument.

"_I'll_ get it," Stephanie said with a note of finality as she began walking toward the door.

"But you'll look desperate!" Chris whined.

"Doesn't matter. I just want to get this over with," Stephanie mumbled right before she opened the door. After a moment of introductions, Stephanie stepped into the hall with the man. "Bye, guys!" With that, she closed the door and left.

* * *

"That was a short date," Chris said from his position on the couch. He was lying upside-down so that his hair was spread out on the floor and his feet dangled over the back of the couch. 

Stephanie merely sent him a glare as she stood in front of the three Canadians.

"I take it that it didn't go too well," Adam guessed.

"At least he didn't spill anything on you. Or it doesn't _look_ like he did. And you don't smell!" Jay offered brightly from his own chair.

More glaring.

"So what happened?" Chris asked, rolling onto his stomach while inadvertently kicking Adam, who was sitting on one end of the couch, in the back of the head.

"HE HAS GOT TO BE THE MOST BORING MAN EVER! _EVER!_" Stephanie shouted, emphasizing "ever" heavily and balling her hands into fists. "I was about ready to chew my arm off just to stop myself from screaming at him. Do you know that he's a 'salesman?'"

"That doesn't sound too bad. I'm sure he meets a lot of interesting people," Adam said while rubbing the back of his head where Chris' boot-clad foot made contact with his head.

"Not when you're calling and interrupting people's dinners to ask them if they want to buy light bulbs," Stephanie responded through gritted teeth.

"Dwayne's fault," came Chris' immediate response. "He said he was a well-respected salesman."

"Well-respected my ass. He's a fucking telemarketer!" Stephanie scoffed, waving her arms wildly. Stephanie began walking to her bedroom. "I think that I might have preferred Travis over… Edmond," she spat out his name. "At least I got to see a good game when I ditched Travis."

Chris pushed himself off the couch and stood up to comfort his stressed friend. Walking over to the fuming brunette, he gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She immediately shoved him away from her.

"Don't touch me!" she spat venomously. "I'm going to take a shower, and when I come out, I want you three gone!"

The Canadians didn't dare call her bluff and ran out of the suite as she walked into the bedroom.

"Maybe we should let her pick her own dates," Jay suggested.

Adam looked at him as though he were insane. "Yeah right. Then she wouldn't go out at all."

"Well then maybe she shouldn't go out if she doesn't _want_ to," Jay pointed out, pushing the button for the elevator.

"But she does so she can get back at Paul," Chris interjected.

"But don't you think that's the wrong reason for her to start dating again?" Jay argued.

"Does it really matter?" Chris retorted. "I mean, so she gets started for the wrong reason, but she'll end up happy and in love at the end of it. So there's just different starting points, but same end result. The way I see it, no harm done," Chris reasoned in his own Chris-like way.

Jay sighed. "I still don't feel right about forcing her to date."

The three stepped into the elevator as Adam reminded his friend, "We are not _forcing_ her to do anything. We're just helping her."

"Thank you! At least someone understands what I'm trying to do," Chris proclaimed dramatically, throwing his hands up in the air in relief.

* * *

Stephanie sighed as the hot water hit her back. Why was she doing all this again? Oh yeah… Chris. He just had to play the hero who made sure she ended up with a fairy tale ending. When would he realize that she just wanted to stay single? It made everything so much simpler and less emotionally draining. 

But Paul had moved on.

But dating just brought about too much drama. There were all these feelings, or lack thereof, and people got hurt. Did she really want to put herself through all that once she found someone? And she'd actually have to find someone with whom to put herself though all that! It was just too complicated of a process to start dating again.

But Paul had moved on.

But she didn't _need_ anyone new in her life to make her happy. She was already happy. She had everything she could need. People who loved her? Her family and friends loved her. People to take care of her? She was Stephanie McMahon, damn it. She didn't need anybody to take of her. Someone to take care of her sexual urges? She had a company of gorgeous men who worked out for a living at her feet! She didn't need to drag anyone else into her life as a boyfriend or as any other role similar to that of a boyfriend.

But Paul had moved on.

Thump!

"Ow," Stephanie cried out as she pulled her forehead away from the tiled shower wall. "Paul's moved on…" she whispered to herself.

Isn't that what she'd been waiting for? Being the one to break it off with Paul, she didn't feel comfortable dating again until she knew that Paul was over her and seeing new people. So why was she having such ambiguous feelings over the whole situation? She had to admit, if not to someone else then to herself, that she enjoyed being in serious relationships. It gave her a feeling of being wanted and loved in a different way than her family and friends could give her. It gave her a different sense of security, and she missed that.

With a note of finality, she repeated, "Paul's moved on."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I know, it's been _forever_ since I've updated and I am so sorry. I don't know what happened. But I'm back… I think and I definitely want to update this story more and hopefully finish it! If that last part of this chapter (where Steph's in the shower) is kind of random, that's because it is. I just kind of started rambling so… yeah. I don't know quite where it came from, but I feel pretty good about it. Haha. Thanks for being so patient with this story and especially with me. So now that you've read this chapter go and review! And if anyone can tell me how to get more than one line break between sections of a chapter, I will that person forever! Thanks! 


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